10 Of The Most Explosive Findings From The Epstein Files

More than three million files released on Jeffrey Epstein by the US’s Department of Justice have revealed just how expansive the disgraced financier’s network was.

Epstein, a convicted sex offender, may have died in jail in 2019 but his name continues to dominate the headlines.

It comes after the US Congress passed a law last year forcing the Trump administration to release everything it had on the disgraced financier.

A huge number of famous names have cropped up in the documents, which include emails sent from Epstein’s account and notes from the FBI.

Just being mentioned in the files does not imply any wrongdoing.

Many of the documents go back to decades, including to before Epstein’s 2008 conviction of soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl after coming to a plea agreement with prosecutors.

He was accused of abusing dozens of teenage girls between 1999 and 2007 but reached a plea deal to avoid federal sex trafficking charges in 2008.

He instead pleaded guilty to lesser state charges and served 13 month behind bars.

Epstein was arrested again in early July 2019 on federal sex charges related to minors, and was found hanged in his prison cell later that month.

Here’s a look at some of the most surprising claims from the Epstein files released last week.

Trump’s name appeared alongside Epstein’s in more than a dozen unverified tips sent to the FBI, according to the documents.

It’s not clear where the tips, some which include unsubstiated claims of sexual abuse, came from.

The US president’s name also pops up in handwritten notes from an interview with a victim.

The president supposedly visited Epstein’s home, too, while another document showed a woman named Melania exchanged friendly emails with the financier in 2002.

After the release of the documents, deputy attorney general Todd Blanche told Fox News there was nothing in the files which criminally implicated Trump.

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection to Epstein.

The Department of Justice said: “Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.

“To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponised against President Trump.”

The documents show Musk and Epstein exchanged emails in 2012 and 2013, making plans for the entrepreneur to go to the convicted sex offender’s private island, though it appears the plans fell through for logistical reasons.

In a message from Nov 25 2012, Musk said: “What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?”

The richest man in the world claims to have “very little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to go to his island”.

Replying on to the revelations on X, Musk said: “If I actually wanted to spend my time partying with young women, it would be trivial for me to do so without the help of a creepy loser like Epstein and I would still have 99 per cent of my mind available to think about other things. But I don’t.”

The files suggest the former prince invited the disgraced financier to the royal household in 2010, when Epstein had been released from house arrest following his conviction for soliciting underage sex.

Epstein emailed someone called “the Duke” – thought to be Andrew as he was formerly the Duke of York – in September 2010 and asked for “private time” in London.

“The Duke” told the financier: “Delighted for you to come here to BP [Buckingham Palace]. Come with whomever and I’ll be here free from 1600ish.”

It remains unclear if that meeting occurred.

Epstein offered to arrange Andrew to have dinner with a “clevere, beautiful and trustworthy” 26-year-old Russian woman, which Andrew appeared to accept.

Andrew also asked Epstein if it was “good to be free” after he served his sentence for his 2008 conviction.

The former prince featured in separate photos leaning over a woman on all fours while she lay on the floor, too.

Emails between the former Duchess of York, Andrew’s ex-wife, and Epstein also appear in the documents.

She described him as the “brother I have always wished for” in 2009 – after his conviction.

She also requested £20,000 for rent after her business collapsed.

The following year, Ferguson called him a “legend”, adding: “Xx I am at your service. Just marry me.”

Her emails has also sparked speculation that Epstein had a secret “baby boy” as she congratulated him on the birth of a child, although that is unsubstantiated.

An unnamed person mentions Sarah and Andrew’s daughter Princess Eugenie, who had supposedly come back from a “shagging weekend”.

Epstein also appeared to want Ferguson to clear his name at one point, claiming the then-Duchess of York was “DUPED into believing false stories” about him.

“Sarah” emailed Epstein the following month, saying she “did not” and “would not” call him a “P” and that she had acted to “protect my own brand”.

British billionaire and founder of the Virgin Group Richard Branson wrote to Epstein in September 2013 saying it was “really nice seeing you yesterday”.

He added: “Any time you’re in the area would love to see you. As long as you bring your harem!”

A representative for Virgin group told the New York Times that Branson sent the email after hosting Epstein at a group business meeting on the private island Branson owns in the British Virgin Islands.

They claimed the “harem” remark refers to the three adult women who arrived with Epstein who were not part of the meeting.

“Any contact Richard and Joan Branson had with Epstein took place on only a few occasions more than 12 years ago, and was limited to group or business settings,” the spokesperson said.

“Richard believes that Epstein’s actions were abhorrent and supports the right to justice for his many victims.”

The former US ambassador, fired over his links to Epstein last year, appears to have forwarded “market sensitive information” to the US financier back in 2009.

Mandelson was the business secretary in Gordon Brown’s cabinet between 2008 and 2010.

The Epstein documents included a pledge to lobby ministers about possibly watering down the bankers’ bonus tax, and confirmation of an imminent bailout for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.

The UK government has now handed alleged evidence that Mandelson leaked such information to the police.

Mandelson says he has “absolutely no recollection or records of receiving his money and I think I would remember such a large sum”.

Three separate payments of $25,000 came out of Epstein’s JP Morgan bank accounts, referencing Mandelson.

Mandelson said: “I have no record and no recollections of receiving these sums and do not know if the documents are authentic.”

Separate documents also appear to indicate that Epstein sent thousands to Mandelson’s husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, in 2009.

He told the Times: “Epstein told Reinaldo that he had an educational foundation which gave bursaries or scholarships and offered one for an osteopathy course. I saw this as kindness, nothing more. It was a great help to Reinaldo and I thanked him.”

He added: “In retrospect, it was clearly a lapse in our collective judgment for Reinaldo to accept this offer. At the time it was not a consequential decision.”

Great Osteopathic Council issued a statement on Monday saying: “Reinaldo Avila da Silva did not graduate from an osteopathy course and has never been registered with the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC). Therefore, he is not able to practise osteopathy in accordance with the law within the UK.”

The files also include a photo of Mandelson in his underwear standing next to a woman whose face has been redacted.

He said he “cannot place the location or the woman and I cannot think what the circumstances were”.

Mandelson was fired over his links to Epstein in September and resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday.

In a statement, he said he was wrong to believe Epstein, adding: “I deeply regret doing so and apologise unequivocally to the women and girls who suffered.”

Epstein died in prison in August 2019.

Less than two weeks beforehand, on July 29, his lawyers met with Manhattan federal prosecutors to talk about Epstein’s potential cooperation.

An FBI document called “Epstein Investigation Summary & Timeline” said they spoke in “very general terms” about the possibility of a resolution of the case.

Another document released called “Jeffrey Epstein Significant Case”, which does not have ties to a specific agency, suggests there was not any clear indication of what Epstein’s cooperation might be like.

Epstein’s prviate jet log shows former US president Bill Clinton took four international flights in 2002 and 2003.

He also appeared in a photos taken at the late financier’s estate.

Clinton and his wife Hillary, the former secretary of state, have now agreed to testify in the congressional investigation into Epstein.

Bill Clinton has denied knowledge of Epstein’s sex offending and says he cut off contact with Epstein two decades ago.

Vladimir Putin is named more than a thousand times in the Epstein files, and it appears Epstein tried to secure a meeting with the Russian president multiple times after his first conviction.

Putin has been president since 2012 but has been Russia’s leader since 2000.

Epstein asked friends to set up a meeting to discuss foreign investment in Russia between 2013 and 2018, but it remains unclear if their meetings ever took place.

Epstein tried to procure a Russian visa from at least 2010, too.